A variety of finger-pricking devices or lancet assemblies are commercially available for not only individual users but also hospitals, clinics and town doctors, and they are used so as to collect a small amount of blood. Such a device comprises a lancet which comprises an element having an acutely sharpened part, i.e. a pricking element (e.g. a needle-shaped element) to momentarily pierce the skin or form an incision so as to bleed a small amount of blood therefrom.
In such a lancet assembly, the sharp tip portion of the pricking element for incising the skin is sterilized beforehand in the course of the manufacturing of the same.
It is essential that the sterilized state of the lancet assembly should be reliably maintained so as not to be contaminated by an ambient atmosphere until it is used, and it is also essential that the pricking element of the lancet assembly should not be unnecessarily being exposed so as not to touch and injure a person or other ambient matters during handling of the assembly for its use.
In view of the above, there is proposed a lancet assembly which comprises a lancet structure having a pricking element whose sharp tip portion is sealed by a resin, and a lancet holder for use in combination with the lancet structure (see Patent Literature 1 described later).
In use of this lancet assembly, it is troublesome to remove a resin cover which seals the sharp tip portion of the pricking element by fingers of one hand, while holding the lancet assembly by fingers of the other hand. Thus, it is desirable to be able to eliminate such a cover-removing operation.
Patent Literature 1: WO 96/16599